Philip Langridge Mentoring Scheme
01 Jun 2012
Renowned tenor Philip Langridge was a staunch member and Council member of the Royal Philharmonic Society until his untimely death in March this year. Endlessly positive and energetic, and passionate about communication through performance, he often spoke about what the RPS could do to extend its support for musicians entering the profession.
At Philip’s suggestion we began discussions with Young Concert Artists Trust (another organisation of which he was a trustee) to explore ways in which established musicians could pass on their wisdom and experience to those just starting out in the profession. The seeds of an idea for musician mentoring were sewn and this autumn we are proud to launch the Philip Langridge Mentoring Scheme.
At the heart of PLMS is the development of a relationship between two musicians – not a teacher pupil relationship but one of colleagues. This is essentially something private and elusive and different musicians will respond in different ways. Without being prescriptive we aim to give space and encouragement to allow discussion of performance issues, exploration of repertoire and the exchange of ideas about interpretation.
We are delighted to announce that pianist Imogen Cooper and and cellist Steven Isserlis have agreed to be among the first mentors for the scheme, working with Alexandra Dariescu and Philip Higham.